Thiel College student-faculty research collaboration leads to published journal article

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College graduate Grant Fox ’18 recently had a technical paper accepted for publication under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Physics Eugene Torigoe, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Neuroscience Greg Butcher, Ph.D.

For the past year-and-half, Fox has been developing an elevated plus maze, a device used to test anxiety in rodents. During spring 2018, he presented the project at Thiel’s Student Research Symposium. His research connected to the maze development will also be published in the Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education.

The interdisciplinary project initially began when two Greenville Neuromodulation Center Faculty-Student Research students wanted to extend their research to include a measure of anxiety. At a cost of more than $1,500, the maze was too expensive. In fall 2017, Butcher incorporated their idea into his Neuroscience Methods course, at Thiel College, a leading liberal arts college in northwest Pennsylvania, as a way for students to develop real-world critical thinking skills. Over the semester, the class designed and tested different versions of the maze. However, the final version still had issues that Fox wanted to resolve. 

Working with Torigoe and binary engineering major Michael Long ’18, Fox modified the maze to include a series of infrared sensors that partially automated data collection. The device was then used by additional students in the spring courses of Butcher and Assistant Professor of Psychology Laura Pickens, Ph.D. ’06 to test the effects of nicotine on anxiety. While the original goal of the project was simply to construct a piece of research equipment, all students involved gained far more, according to Butcher.   

As one of JUNE’s reviewers commented “(The project) was a stimulating way to involve students in the design process allowing them to work through the logistical problems presented when conducting animal research. I especially liked the fact that the class came up with three initial plans and had to work through each to determine which design would most effectively serve their needs. This was a well-articulated example of how to incorporate active learning into a neuroscience course.”

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